The present invention relates, in general, to an electrical apparatus and, more specifically, to a terminal assembly for a panel board.
FIG. 11 shows, in a perspective view, a conventional terminal assembly for a panel board. In this Figure, reference numeral 1 designates a bus bar which is fixedly mounted by fastening means 1a such as rivets on a pair of support members 2 formed of an electrically insulating material. Securely attached by fastening means such as brazing, fastening screws and the like to the bus bar 1 are a main block or terminal 3 having a main terminal screw 4 threaded therein and a branch block or a branch terminal assembly 5 having four in-line branch terminals with four branch terminal screws 6 threaded therein in spaced apart relation to each other. The main block or terminal 3 has an opening 3a formed therethrough for receiving a hot line or an external conductor (not shown) leading to a power source (not shown), the hot line being adapted to be inserted into the opening 3a and clamped therein by means of the main terminal screw 4 for electrical connection with the main block 3. Similarly, the branch block or branch terminal assembly 5 has four openings 5a formed therethrough in spaced parallel relation with each other for receiving four neutral lines or external conductors (not shown) leading to respective electrical loads (not shown). In this connection, it is to be noted that although in the illustration of FIG. 11 the branch terminal assembly 5 is formed of an integral block member, it may, of course, be constructed of a plurality of independent or separate block members disposed in parallel relation with each other, each of the independent block members constituting a single branch terminal.
The conventional panel board terminal assembly as constructed above has the following disadvantages. Namely, the main block 3 and the branch block 5 generally have to be formed by die-casting brass, and hence the manufacturing cost of the entire terminal assembly becomes high. Also, attaching the main and branch blocks 3, 5 to the bus bar 1 by brazing, fastening screws or the like makes the assembling operation cumbersome, inefficient and costly.